Monday

Earth Hour recap: it felt good to participate, just to put our normal lives on hold for 60 minutes and show we care. I realize this didn't stop global warming, it's more of a symbolic gesture. And even more important to me - a whole hour with no gadgets meant that we talked and played games and made music. It was very cool.


Getting ready- gathering candles, turning off appliances and computers, finding the Uno cards:

Sorry the picture is so dark (just kidding):

Tyrus from next door joined us and we had a little jam session:
*there seems to be a little problem with the video, I'm working on it*



So maybe using the camera was cheating a bit, I'm not sure. I read that about 30 million people took part world-wide, pretty cool!

Earth Hour

Tomorrow night - Saturday, March 29, 2008 is officially Earth Hour. At 8:00pm, power down for one hour. Join in!

A True Classic

The good thing about having a broken cd player in your car and having to listen to the radio? Every once in a while you get a sweet surprise, like yesterday when I was waiting at Costco (Jordan was inside fetching frozen yogurts) and this beauty came on. I'd forgotten how much I love it. Came home and tried to find it on Napster and Dizzler, but no luck. So, I'm sticking the video up here so I can see/listen whenever I like.



And...did you hear about the world's first pregnant man?

Check It!

Jordan is taking a drawing class this semester - here's a look at his awesome work:

He gets his talent from his dad for sure. I can draw stick figures, and even then it's not pretty. I know who I want on my Pictionary team!

Enchanted by Enchanted

I loved this movie! It was cute, funny, sweet, romantic...I even cried a little at the end. Really one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Definitely an A. Giselle (the princess) is hilarious - here, I'll let this guy tell you all about it.

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful spring day! Shane took the kids down to the water park for some play time:



Meanwhile, I had a glorious nap. Now we're getting ready for dinner. On the menu:
Cola basted ham
homemade macaroni and cheese
asparagus
salad
rolls & butter
strawberry-rhubarb pie

Then later tonight: Big Brother and Rock of Love - the most trashtacular night of TV you could wish for, and the perfect ending to a great day!

Saturday

Gearing up for some major house cleaning today. So far, the kitchen is done (except for the floor, that's not my department) - next up: bathrooms. The kids' rooms need serious help. Or maybe a flamethrower. I fully admit I am not a great housekeeper. Not even a marginally good one. It's not that I don't care, it's just that I have other things I'd rather do. Like blog for example. Or watch Big Brother clips on youtube. Not today though - I'm going to put on some snappy music and drink even more coffee and git r done.

Movie review: I Am Legend
Disturbing, in an unbelievable sort of way, suspenseful, and if you like Will Smith you will appreciate his musculature. I'm giving it a B.

And here's a little video for your enjoyment (or not):

Date Night

Woo-hoo, a night out! Nothing fancy, just Shane's weekly pool tournament. We hadn't been on a date in a long time, it was a nice break (pun intended).

The babysitter:


Dinner: Take out gyros and greek salad

A funky shot of Shane's stick:
He lost the match, bummer!

What's missing? The eight ball, shot in on the break, an automatic win. Too bad it was practice.

Stuff That Grates My Cheese

1. Tailgaters. Get off my butt!
2. Politicians with their stupid squabbling.
3. Litterbugs. Find a freaking trash can!
4. Gas pain/bloating.
5. When the receptionist at the dentist's office makes you feel guilty for missing your 6 month appointment. Enough with the guilt trips today, I'm over it.
6. Insurance.
7. Whining.
8. Bills.
9. Reel Big Fish are playing here tonight and we're not going.
10. Allergies.

Auditions And Other Stuff

Today Hannah and Evan tried out for their school talent show. Hannah did a jump rope routine with her girlfriend. They were so cute and so nervous, hitting the mic and everything with their jump ropes. They had decided at the last minute not to sing, they were too nervous. I think all the kids were super brave for getting up there in front of the judges - totally American Idol style but without Simon's snarky comments and Paula's drunken babbling. Evan played drums - and he rocked the house! When he was done everyone clapped and cheered and asked, "you're only in FIRST grade?" We're pretty proud of our lil' rocker!

Oh, and here's a peek at my finished mug from last week:

Best Movie??

So, I haven't seen all the movies that were up for Best Picture at the Oscars this year, but I'm going out on a limb and saying that No Country For Old Men wouldn't have gotten my vote. If you haven't seen it, here's a clip:



Sure, it had some cool chase scenes, lots of shooting, and perhaps the greatest bowl cut hair-do ever seen on the silver screen. But, it made no sense. I like for stuff to make sense.

My nominee for Best Picture is a movie that did make sense, and was damn funny too - Superbad. Here's a look:



No Country For Old Men vs. Superbad: feel free to cast your vote.

Happy St. Patty's Day To Ye

The kids fashioned a complicated Leprechaun trap last night, complete with a pot of gold to entice the little buggers. I noticed this morning that the coins had been knocked over and the door of the trap was shut, but no little green man. Foiled again!

Sunday Morning Special

Monkey bread, made by special request just for my little monkeys. Evan is throwing some kind of gang sign, not sure what that's about. Gonna get them all hopped up on sugar and then hit the roller rink. Have a happy day!

Road Rage

Well, not really road rage, because I hadn't gotten on the road yet. That was the problem. I was in a hurry to make an appointment and almost out of gas. So, I stopped at the station, went inside, plopped down a $10 bill (I know, big spender) and said, "10 on 6 please." Just like that. Well, the clerk apparently did not hear the 6 part and put my money on pump 10. The man at pump 10 was already gassing up when the clerk came out to tell him what happened. Pump #10 was not happy. I heard him shout, "that's not my problem, it's your problem, Buddy." The clerk points to me, halfway across the lot, and says, "no, it's her fault." I swear I felt the hair stand up on my head at that point. "EXCUSE ME?" I say in my sweetest I'm-not-taking-any-crap voice. The clerk goes inside to get the receipts to show Pump #10, who eventually goes grumping into the building to pay $10 on my pump. Meanwhile, I'm standing out in the cold stressing over being late for my meeting. I see Pump #10 drive away, but still nothing is happening with my pump. Finally I go inside and ask the clerk and he says, "oh, it's working, try it again." When I get back to my pump, it spits out my measly $10 in gas and I'm finally on my way. Moral of the story: pay at the pump. Or ride a bike.

Heightened Awareness

Are YOU aware? Take this simple test:

Hometown Throwdown #1

Shane and Co. tearing it up at the first monthly Freestyle Kayak Throwdown competiton last night. Great, cold fun! (Photo credits to Scott)

Creating Fun

The kids were climbing-the-walls-bored today, halfway through Spring Break. Hannah has been bugging me to go paint pottery for days - ever since she got some birthday $ from her sweet Auntie. So, we finally went and it was super fun. Now we have to be patient for a whole week while the pieces get glazed and fired. And, note to self: do not use black in the future. You can't make mistakes and it is tedious and you will get a headache.

Signs Of Spring

Longer days, birdies chirping, allergies raging...yep, it's beginning to look a lot like spring! The bulbs are coming up in the flower beds, and there are little buds on the wisteria. I'm so ready!

Library Run

I love the library. Love it! The kids enjoyed picking out some new books today, and I got more Stephen King for Jordan. Maybe that will keep him off the XBox for a little while.

Our new library has a really cool kid's section:

I snuck this pic - I love that my kids like to read!

The automatic checker-outer thingie is cool:

Today's haul:

"Whatev, Mom"

Daylight "Savings"

It seems that not only are we losing an hour today, but it's also costing us $3.19 over the year. Hey! I could almost buy a gallon of gas with that! Not making this up folks, check out the news story HERE.


And also in the news...those Diebold crooks are at it again!

Good Times

Dinner and drinks with our lovely friends the Nitzes last night. We really need to get together more often!

The kids roasted marshmallows out on the deck:
Hannah got all ninja with hers:

Someone got a little sleepy:

An after dinner snuggle:

Thanks for dinner, guys! It was great to catch up, and dinner was yummy. Those steaks were massive!

TGIF

I finished last night's project, which was inspired by the One Little Word Challenge "Time" - normally I would upload it to SIS but the site is being buggy today. It's a 9X12 flat canvas that I painted and embellished for my friend who had a death in the family. I hope it cheers her a bit.

Thursday Night

Shane has his weekly pool tournament tonight, so he's out for a bit. They are playing the #1 team in the league, so cross your fingers. I'm getting ready to watch Survivor and Lost with Jordan - it's the best TV night of the week! Also doing some crafy stuff, here's what I'm working on:




It's a canvas for my friend Tobi. If you see this Tob, pretend to be surprised when I give it to you, ok? xoxo

Drummer Boy

Here's Evan rocking it out! The video is fuzzy, but he sounds pretty dang good. At least I think so, my ears are ringing a bit. He must have gotten that coordination from his daddy, cause it's sure not from me!

This Just In

The makers of Airborne cold remedy have been ordered to refund $23 million to customers. Apparently it doesn't work. If you are gullible like me and want to get a refund for all that nasty tasting stuff that you guzzled, here's the link: http://www.airbornehealthsettlement.com/.

See, I always thought it was working. I guess it was all in my head.

Go Fly A Kite!

On Sunday we all hiked up Shadow Mtn. to fly the new kite. It flies really well and doesn't have miles of string, which is a very good thing! It was super windy and chilly but still nice to get out and have a little picnic. There's quite a view from up there.

Across The Universe - Thumbs Up

We watched Across The Universe last night. It was very cool: happy, sad, timely (Vietnam/Iraq analogy), thought provoking, visually stunning, and weird. I love weird. Oh, and the music - fantastic. Of course it helps to be a Beatles fan, as there are a lot of subtle references throughout the movie.




Naturally, it reminded me of one of my all time favorites, The Wall.



That's all for Movie Review Sunday.